Sync Churn Watch finds files your vault rewrites

Name: Sync Churn Watch
Author: theluckystrike

Compare observed file and settings writes.

MIT · no telemetry · core features free

A sample watch session separates settings files from notes and attachments. — Open larger

version: 1.1.0
released: 2026-10-21
downloads: 26
review: Passed
health: Excellent
license: MIT
listed for: Desktop, Mobile
obsidian: 1.13.4 or later

App tests ran on macOS, while screenshots use fixed sample sessions. Physical mobile devices and real Sync traffic were not tested.

Directory facts fetched 2026-10-23 07:28 UTC from community.obsidian.md/users/theluckystrike.

About Sync Churn Watch

You want to investigate repeated file changes before reviewing your Sync or Git setup.

Start a watch session, use your vault, then stop to compare the files that changed. Sync Churn Watch separates settings from notes and attachments. Copy the table to keep a record of that work period.

The counts describe local observations. They don't measure Sync traffic, storage savings or merge conflicts.

Sample watch session with settings rows, note writes and stopped results

Free features

Start and stop a watch session

Start and stop from commands, the view button or the desktop status bar. Closing the view leaves the session running. Stop keeps the results; starting again clears the live table.

Find settings and plugin writes

The watcher checks selected core settings and plugin data files at ten-second intervals. Rows show lower bounds because several writes between checks can count as one. Writes with unchanged modification times can be missed.

Sample settings rows show plugin names, paths and observed write counts. — Open larger

Compare notes and attachments

The watcher counts Vault modify events and sorts rows by writes. Estimated bytes adds the file size at each observed event. Writes per hour uses session duration, and stopping freezes the rate.

Sample note and attachment rows show write counts and estimated bytes. — Open larger

Copy a Markdown report

Copy Markdown sends a table of paths, writes, hourly rates and byte estimates to your clipboard. Read the paths before sharing the report. If clipboard access fails, the view keeps the table.

A note contains a copied Markdown report from a sample session. — Open larger

Pro features

Pro costs $5 a month or $15 one time through GitHub Sponsors. One sponsorship turns on Pro in every plugin that has it.

Keep session history Pro

Pro retains the most recent 30 stopped sessions in plugin data. A daily chart groups observed writes by their local dates across those saved sessions.

Saved sample sessions appear below a chart of observed daily writes. — Open larger

See write rate notices Pro

Enable notices and set a writes-per-hour threshold. A file above it gets one notice per session. The notice calculation uses at least one minute of duration, so its early rate can differ from the table.

A sample notice flags a settings file above the write-rate threshold. — Open larger

Review Sync folder suggestions Pro

Pro copies parent folders from the five files with the most writes, omitting repeated folders and root files. Review the list before changing Sync settings. The command does not change those settings.

A review note lists suggested folders from a sample session. — Open larger

See how Pro works

Set up Sync Churn Watch

needs

Obsidian 1.13.4 or later

steps

Run Open the watch view from the command palette.
Start a session before the activity you want to investigate.
Edit notes or use the suspected plugin, leaving time for settings checks.
Stop the session, copy the report and record what you did.

If the app can't find a new plugin yet, try again later. Obsidian says a plugin that passes the review shows in the app within 24 hours.

How to find frequent file writes in Obsidian

Known limits of Sync Churn Watch

Settings write counts are lower bounds because intermediate writes and writes with unchanged modification times can be missed.
Byte estimates add observed file sizes; they do not measure Sync traffic, compressed storage or changed text.
The watcher checks selected core settings and plugin data files, not other configuration files or files outside the vault.
Closing the view leaves the session running; unloading or shutting down loses an unfinished session.
Stop a session to save its table and changes to the Pro notice controls.
Renaming a path can create a separate row, and short sessions can produce high hourly rates.
Folder suggestions do not change Sync settings and omit files at the vault root.
Pro retains the most recent 30 stopped sessions, so removed sessions leave the daily chart.
Physical mobile devices, real Sync traffic and large production vaults were not tested.

Questions about Sync Churn Watch

Does it read Obsidian Sync history?

No, it records local file observations. Estimated bytes don't measure uploaded bytes, compressed storage or changed text.

Which settings files does it watch?

It checks workspace.json, workspace-mobile.json, app.json, appearance.json and plugin data.json files in your vault config folder, whatever you named it. It leaves out its own data file.

Will a running session survive a restart?

No, an unfinished session is lost on unload or shutdown. Stop first to save its table; Pro also adds it to session history.

Why can a short session show a high hourly rate?

The table divides observed writes by elapsed session time. Compare stopped sessions and record their duration when reviewing rates.

Network use

After you choose Sign in with GitHub, github.com receives the public client ID and read:user scope for device sign-in. Then api.github.com receives your token and a sponsorship query at sign-in, periodic checks or Refresh. The plugin sends no vault data; successful checks last seven days, and failed checks can retry after six hours.

Read the full network disclosure

Questions or ideas?

Tell me what is broken in Sync Churn Watch, or what it should do next.

Send feedback

Sync Churn Watch 1.1.0, MIT license

Install in Obsidian

Directory page Source on GitHub